


Count Your Age by Friends

by UrsaeMinoris



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Party, Fluff, M/M, Not Voltron: Legendary Defender Season/Series 08 Compliant, POV Shiro (Voltron), Post-Canon, Post-War, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29820096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrsaeMinoris/pseuds/UrsaeMinoris
Summary: Shiro’s friends make sure he has the happiest of birthdays.---The Coalition’s strategic meeting was staling. The Garrison’s main conference room hosted officials from many allied planets, Olkari representatives, the Rebels and the Blades. They were coordinating the relief efforts towards the exiled Olkari population, but they kept debating minor technicalities, and Shiro was getting antsy. And frustrated, because Keith constantly checked messages on his phone, looking preoccupied, and Shiro didn’t know why. Kolivan was sharing crucial intel, yet Shiro had the hardest time focusing. His gaze kept going back to Keith, who was clearly more invested in whatever was going on on his phone, than in the meeting he had himself planned. And that was not like him at all.
Relationships: Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Keith/Shiro (Voltron), MFE Pilots & Shiro (Voltron), Shiro & Atlas crew
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. Distraction

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to [starryskeyess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryskeyess/pseuds/starryskeyess) for the beta-read and being an awesome person in general!
> 
> __  
>  _“Count your garden by the flowers,  
>  never by the leaves that fall;  
> Count your days by golden hours  
> don’t remember clouds at all!  
> Count the night by stars, not shadows  
> Count your life with smiles—not tears  
> And with joy on today’s birthday,  
> count your age by friends—not years!”_  
> Dixie Willson

The Coalition’s strategic meeting was staling. The Garrison’s main conference room hosted officials from many allied planets, Olkari representatives, the Rebels and the Blades. They were coordinating the relief efforts towards the exiled Olkari population, but they kept debating minor technicalities, and Shiro was getting antsy. And frustrated, because Keith constantly checked messages on his phone, looking preoccupied, and Shiro didn’t know why. Kolivan was sharing crucial intel, yet Shiro had the hardest time focusing. His gaze kept going back to Keith, who was clearly more invested in whatever was going on on his phone, than in the meeting he had himself planned. And that was not like him at all.

When the discussion finally ended, Keith waited for Shiro by the door. Shiro joined him. “Keith? Is something wrong?”

Keith’s frown relaxed, and a soft smile spread on his face, “Everything’s fine, Shiro.”

Shiro hesitated to bring up that Keith had spent the meeting on his phone, but Keith continued, “Want to go spar?”

“Why not?” This was unexpected, but Shiro wasn’t turning Keith down on that. They had both been so busy, that they hadn’t trained together in forever. Or had much spare time together at all. Being respectively the Leader of Voltron and the Captain of the Atlas tended to pack their schedules. They may now share quarters, but evenings were short way too often.

***

“Got you!” Shiro laughed, holding down a reluctant Keith on the training room’s mats. It had almost been... too easy. Keith didn’t seem to really have his mind in the fight. After Shiro pinned him down so fast, he should get a bit more combative in the next round!

“Yeah, you win.” Keith admitted. “Time for a break”.

“Fair enough.” Shiro couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated. Neither of them were even out of breath. But if Keith wanted a break, they could have one. It wouldn't hurt to hydrate, after all. Shiro almost choked on his water when he saw Keith checking his phone _again_! Something had to be happening. Keith never paid attention to his phone, usually!

“What are you looking at?” He was done with subtle. He did try to make it sound casual, but Keith gave him a concerned look.

“I’m texting with Hunk.” Keith lifted a brow, “Something bothering you?”.

Shiro huffed. Keith wasn’t one to beat around the bush. “I… I don’t know. You seem distracted today. Even during the meeting, you barely listened.”

“Most of it was already settled with the Blades and the Olkari leaders. It was just making it official and organizing the details.”

“I know, but you don’t usually text during that kind of meetings.”

Keith shrugged. “Sorry.”

“I… I wasn’t lecturing you. I was wondering if something was preoccupying you.”

Keith patted Shiro’s arm “Stop worrying Shiro. I’m all right, I promise.”

They sparred for one more round. This time, Shiro was the one lacking focus, so the fight didn’t last long. Keith, fast as quicksilver, dodged all his attempts, and ended up holding Shiro’s flesh arm behind his back, and holding his knife to Shiro’s throat. Shiro gently knocked on his temple with his Altean arm. Shiro knew he was almost impossible to immobilize with his floating prosthetic. Keith let out a frustrated growl. “Okay. But I got you first!” They both laughed.

After that, Keith decided this was enough training. This wasn’t like him to stop so soon, but Shiro wouldn’t push it if Keith wasn’t in the mood.

They showered and changed to casual wear, as they were done with their work day. When they were ready, Keith invited Shiro to have a coffee with him to the cafeteria. Shiro felt like he had lost control of the day, but he didn’t mind following whatever Keith decided. It was surprising, how Keith kept jumping from one thing to the other. And he had this weird way of avoiding Shiro’s eyes. Keith wasn’t a good liar, and Shiro could see he was hiding something. But Shiro also caught Keith smiling at himself when he thought no one was looking at him. He was hiding something, but it might not be bad news.

“Everything ok?” Keith sounded concerned.

Shiro found himself at a loss, and only could reply: “of course!”

Keith nodded and playfully bumped their shoulders, as if to reassure Shiro.

***

When they entered the cafeteria, they were met with an explosion of cheerful voices. The room was all decorated with ribbons and balloons. They were swarmed by a joyous crowd cheering and singing for his birthday. His birthday! Of course! That was why Keith had been behaving strangely. He should have seen it coming.

He now realized Keith had only kept him busy while the others were setting things up. This was why he had been behaving so oddly! He turned to Keith and shared a warm smile with him. But they didn’t get to talk it out yet. Everyone wanted to greet Shiro first.

The whole Atlas crew was there, and the MFE pilots. He clapped hands with James, bumped Ryan’s fist, hugged Nadia and smiled at Ina. He shook Iverson’s hand and laughed at Veronica’s joke, and was pulled into a hug by Sam Holt. Shiro wasn’t ready for so much affection and his eyes were welling up. Even Slav was there! He managed to be mostly nice: he commented that given the cake was banana and chocolate, as he had recommended, there was a 64,5% chance that Shiro would have a great year in this reality. The paladins, however, were nowhere to be seen. Before he could worry about it, Shiro was pushed towards the cake.

The tables were gathered in the center of the room and indeed, a big yellow cake had the place of honor. It had candles on it – seven of them. Shiro laughed. Fair enough. He liked to joke himself about being seven. Kinkade lit the candles, and everyone cheered on Shiro to blow them. He even managed to blow them all out in one shot. As everyone clapped, and Sam and Kinkade got busy serving everyone fruit juice and cider, Shiro could settle down a bit in a quieter corner. He glanced at Keith, who had not left his side.

“So, this is what this was all about, huh?” he asked, amused. His plans for his birthday had only been a quiet evening with Keith and perhaps hanging out with the paladins. Who were still missing.

“Yeah. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Keith...of course I don’t. Thank you.”

Keith grinned. “My pleasure. Also, I noticed you were looking for the team. Don’t worry. We’ll meet them later. We’ll have dinner with them, so don’t eat too much cake!”

So Keith had planned a whole evening. Shiro was touched, but he was also proud of Keith. He had come so far, to be organizing that sort of things with the team!

They ate some cake, chatting with Veronica and Sam. Banana wouldn’t have been Shiro’s first choice, but the cake was delicious -apparently the result of a team effort from the MFEs. The sweet taste of the fruit was balanced with dark chocolate. Keith managed to relax somewhat at first, but soon enough he was tense and checking his phone again.

As the party quieted, Sam announced it was time for the gift.

"Oh no, you don't need to give me anything!" Shiro protested, feeling his ears turn red.

"Too late!" laughed Nadia.

James brought a small box. Shiro could hold it in the palm of his left hand. Someone had used a Garrison issued leaflet and had done a great job at wrapping it up. Probably Ina – she had a passion for paper folding and origami.

"Won't you open it?" Veronica asked, impatient.

Shiro wondered what could be in such a small box. Some kind of jewelry? A data key?

He opened it cautiously. It was still a bit awkward to do minute gestures like that with his big prosthetic, but he managed. Inside was... a key?

This key looked like... He took a breath in and exchanged a glance with Keith.

"Yeah, you need to come with me to the hangar to see what they go with," Keith declared with a smug grin.

"This is from all of us, Shiro," Iverson explained.

Keith took Shiro by the hand, "Follow me!"

Shiro would follow him to the end of the universe.


	2. Escape

The crowd followed them in the Garrison corridors, chatting happily, until they reached the hangar.

It was exactly what Shiro wouldn’t let himself hope for. A new hoverbike, black and chrome, the latest kind. Everyone fell silent as he paced to the vehicle. He patted the metallic body in awe. It was beautiful, and its aerodynamic shape made it clear it was made for speed. He turned back to Keith, and their friends waiting for his reaction. Keith stepped closer, taking his left hand in his again, in a gesture so natural he might not have been aware of it. Shiro gently squeezed his hand in return. He tried to say something, but he was choking up. He hadn't expected anything at all and this was... too much. He only managed a wet, "Thank you, everyone." He could hold motivational speeches in hard circumstances, when the team was facing a universe-wide war, but now, the words were lacking.

He exchanged a glance with Keith; Keith smiled back. Shiro pulled him into a hug. It was really difficult not to tear up. As they parted, Shiro repeated, to Keith, "Thank you."

"Yeah. Welcome. But we're not done yet."

Shiro must have made a face, because Keith scoffed and pointed at the hoverbike, "Don't you want to try this baby out?"

"You... want me to leave?" Shiro felt confused. Keith playfully bumped his shoulder.

"You're not going alone! I'm coming with you. We need to meet the team, remember?"

Oh, oh right. "So, we're just leaving everyone?"

"Yeah, that's fine. They knew about it."

Shiro sat in the driver seat; Keith took place behind him, with his hands wrapped around Shiro’s waist. It was comforting having him so close. The hangar doors opened for them and they flew off in the desert, warmed up by the golden light of the setting sun.

Shiro picked up speed, and they cheered as the hoverbike rocketed between the mesas. Shiro couldn't resist jumping down a cliff. He stopped at the bottom of it, as they were still laughing and catching their breath.

"Where should we go, now?" Shiro asked. After all, weren't they supposed to join the team?

But when they arrived on top of the mesa Keith had indicated, no-one was there.

"Where are the others?" Shiro asked, confused.

"They're near the shack. I wanted to see the sunset from here with you," Keith admitted in a whisper.

"Didn't know you were such a sap!" Shiro teased him, as he dismounted and helped Keith off the bike.

"So what," Keith protested, and he pulled Shiro down for a kiss. They took their time, relishing in each other's closeness. It was good to have some time alone together finally.

They watched the sky turn from golds to oranges to pinks to purples, and the blue shadows stretch across the desert. Shiro closed his eyes to enjoy the still warm air, the dusty wind on his skin, the sweet herbal scent of the sage and creosote bushes, Keith's hand in his, the call of a Red-Tailed Hawk in the distance, the steady movement of his own breathing... After a few moments that felt like a blissful eternity, he opened his eyes again, and gazed at Keith. He was on his phone. It had been a while, but now Shiro knew what was going on.

"Texting with Hunk again?"

"Yeah! They're waiting for us. You ready to go?"

"Yes. Let's no keep them waiting too long."

***

It was getting dark as they arrived near Keith’s shack. The paladins, Coran, Matt and Romelle, were sitting around a campfire. It was a state-of-the-art campfire, lit in a pit and surrounded with rocks. The team all cheered as they sat down with them. Hunk handed them plates with sausages, potatoes and green beans.

"How was the ride?!" Lance inquired.

"Amazing," Shiro replied. "It's so fast and responsive!"

"The best one currently available!" Matt affirmed with a grin.

"Thank you, everyone."

Spending time with Keith and his friends was all he had wished for his birthday.

They had some catching up to do, as a few of them had been away on missions. Romelle told them about her studies on the evolution of the Altean language and culture. Allura shared about her diplomacy work, and her research on the use of Altean alchemy applied in the medical field. Shiro was more up-to-date with Lance's successes teaching piloting classes at the Garrison. It was still funny to hear some of his anecdotes. Pidge, Matt and Hunk talked about their collaboration with the Olkari on acclimating on Earth their green energy: power plants based on photosynthesis. Shiro tuned them out when the incomprehensible technical babble went on for too long. He leaned on Keith and rested his head on his shoulder. Keith answered a few questions on his latest missions with the BOM. The one with the biggest news was actually Coran. He was working with an editor to help with a collection of works on animals and living species of the universe, thanks to the extensive data saved from the Castle's library and his vast personal knowledge.

Shiro realized that the fact that they were all stationed at the Garrison this week was no coincidence; they came back for his birthday. He couldn't have hoped for a better gift.

Hunk made some baked apples with maple sirup and pecan nuts in the fire -"If that's fine with you Shiro. I thought it would be a change. You just had cake, right?"

Shiro reassured him. It would have been a bit too much cake for his taste indeed. The baked apples were amazing, as you could expect from any food prepared by Hunk. After that, they ended up roasting some s'mores. Shiro wasn't that hungry anymore, but Keith was devouring them, and it was kind of adorable. It was night already, and the conversation shifted as they watched the stars and pointed out constellations. They listed the planets they wanted to visit. Shiro made mental notes for every planet they mentioned. Keith talked about a swap moon renowned for its intergalactic aircraft races, and Shiro swore to himself he would take him there one day.

It was getting chilly. Coran, with Allura and Lance's help, got some covers out of one the all-road vehicles that the paladins had used to come, and distributed them.

***

"Getting sleepy?"

Shiro fluttered his eyes open. He had dozed off without realizing it. He was leaning against Keith again."Mmmhmm."

"Maybe we should get you to bed," Keith whispered.

"Yeah. Early start, tomorrow."

"Not really."

Shiro straightened up, trying to make sense of what Keith was saying. "What do you mean?"

Keith scoffed. "You're on vacation. I cleared it up with the Garrison."

"Are you joking?!" Shiro couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You need some rest, old timer!" Keith joked. "And I'm on leave for a week, too."

"That's... thank you, Keith." Shiro held Keith close to him and kissed him.

"We're staying at the shack, tonight," Keith explained. His face, lit by the full moon and the reddish light of the fire, looked impossibly beautiful.

"Shiro?"

"Yes. I'm listening, Keith."

"Ok. So, we can stay here, or we can go anywhere you want. We could take the hoverbike for a road-trip. Whatever you want."

"A road-trip sounds wonderful."

"Yeah." Keith let out a content sigh; he stood up and reached out his hand to Shiro. "Let's catch some sleep, first."

"What about them?" Shiro asked, as he took Keith's hand in his left hand, and let Keith helped him up.

Keith shrugged. "I think they can handle themselves."

"You're right," Shiro admitted, embarrassed about being overprotective.

They bid farewell to their friends, and as they walked together to the shack under the starry skies, Shiro felt like he was the luckiest man in the universe.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this fic!  
> I started it 3 years ago, and never managed to finish it in time for Shiro's birthday. Finally, I can share it with you!
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts. Comments of any length are always welcome! 
> 
> Find me on twitter at <https://twitter.com/UrsaeMinoris2>


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